Broiler utensil



Nov. 14, 1939. s. LEIBOW BROILER UTENSIL Filed Feb. 15, 1958 INVE OR I O a 4 6 ATTQRNEY Patented Nov. 14, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2.179.939 nnommt u'rl-msn.

Saul Leibow, Providence, a. 1., assl gnor of forty per cent to Ira Rlilkin, Providence, B. I.

Application February 15, 1938, Serial N0. 190,592 3 Claims. (Cl. 219-19) My present invention relates to electrical cook ing utensils, and more specifically to an electric broiler.

The principal object of myinvention is' to pro- 5'. vide an adjustable broiler cover which cooperates with a conventional frying pan to permit rapid broiling.

Another object of my invention is to provide a broiler mechanism which is adjustable to permit 10 initial searing and subsequent controlled broiling temperature.

A further object of my invention is to provide vantageous features in view, my invention consists of a'novel arrangement of partsmore fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing,

25 and more specifically defined in the. claims appended thereto.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a cover carrying a broiler element and positioned over a conventional frying pan;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail, partly in section,

showing one type of automatic operating mecha-' nism; 35 Fig. 4 is a similar view of another type of automatic operating mechanism; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of cover.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, the

40 numeral l0 generally designates a cover adapted to fit over a conventional frying pan ll, thecover ll being preferably concave and of sumc ient curvature and depth to house the hereinafter described mechanism. The cover II is 45 provided with a knob or handle I 2, the handle having a central bore l3 communicating with a hole I through the upper portion of the cover l0 and being fixed to the cover by any suitable means such as a wood screw IS. A conventional 50 electric heating element It is mounted in the concave portion of the cover In by means of a rod I! liked to the upper central part of the heating element and vertically slidable in the bore I! and through the hole ll in the cover II. The

55 rod ll extends above the handle l2 and carries a manually graspable knob l8, and is provided with suitable spaced notches I9, 20 and 2|. The handle I2 is provided with a horizontalbore 22 "communicating with the vertical bore l3. slid- )abl'y mounted in the bore 22 is a pointed pin 23 5 urged into the bore 22 and into the bore l3 by' a coil spring 24. The spring 24 is, held in place and adjustably urged against the pin 23 by an adjustment screw 25 threadedly engaging the bore 22. The pin 23 is adapted to, selectively engage the notches I9, 20 and H to position the heating element at selected distances above the pan. The conventional heating element It is disposed with the heating surface or coils facing downwardly and has suitable electrical cord connections 26 attached thereto which lead to an insulated conventional contact plug receiving element 21 extending laterally through the cover ll.

A grate or grid 28 of conventional design may he placed in the bottom of the pan II to hold the meat or other food to be broiled.

In operation, a piece of steak or other suitable meat is placed upon the grid 28 and the cover it) is placed over the pan, the element 21 being connected to the house power line by means of the usual cord connection. Downward pressure on the knob l8 forces the heating element downwardly in closeproximity to the steak, the spring pressed pin 22 engaging the groove 2i to hold the heating element in place adjacent the meat. This close contact sears the steak which can be then turned over and the searing action repeated on the other side. When the steak has been properly seared, the rod I! may be pulled upwardly manually so that the remaining broilingcan be completed without burning the meat, the heating element being selectively pulled upwardly so that the pin will releasably snap into grooves I! and 20, depending on whether a me- 40 dium or well-done steak is desired.

For one type of automatic operation, (Fig. 3), I provide a conventional clock mechanism 29 such as used in a standard type electric toaster. The clock mechanism 29 is fixed to the underside of the cover It with its tripping member 20 adjacent the rodjl holding the heating element and. its speed adjustment lever 43 extend ing through the cover, and aslotted rod 32 connects the heating element with the clock winding mechanism so that downward movement of the heating element automatically winds the clock. In'this form the rod 3| is provided with a notch 28, and a pawl 34 is provided on a support 35 riveted to the underside of the cover so inglypush the pawl 34 into engagement. The

pawl 34 is provided with a tripping arm 31 having a pawl arm 31a extending into the path of the tripping member of the clock mechanism,

and a coil spring 38 is placed around 'the upwardly extending portion of the rod 3| with the 'lower end extending into a recess 39 in the handie 40 and the upper end abutting the knob 4|. The spring may be suitably housed in a hollow cylinder 42.

As the knob 4| is pushed downwardly against the tension of the spring 38, the heating element is pushed in proximity to the steak, as in the first described arrangement. pushes the pawl 34 into engagement with the notch 33,- preferably on upward movement of the heating element. The pawl arm 31a permits downward movement of the tripping arm 30. The downward movement of the heating element has wound the clock mechanism by means of the rod 32. At the end of a predetermined time sufficient to sear the steak, the clock mechanism will trip and the tripping member 30 will kick the pawl arm 31 and will release the pawl 34 from engagement with the notch'33. The spring 38 will then lift the heating element away from the steak, and the broiling is then completed.

The heretofore described arrangement can be made further automatic by providing for a shutting off of the electric current by means of the clock mechanism or by means of the upwardmovement of the heating element in a conventional manner. The clock mechanism can similarly be adjusted to release the heating element from searing position to broiling position and then to further release the heating element andshut off the current.

In the above described form the heating element is lifted in sudden movements. If a gradual lifting movement is desired, I provide the form shownin Fig. 4. The rod 44 which operates the heating element, is provided with a laterally extending pin 45. The clock tripping element 46 is forked at the end, as at 41, the forked end slidably engaging the pin 45. The tripping arm is caused to gradually lift the rod and attached heating element upwardly and then the clock mechanism shuts off the current. The adjustment lever 48, extending through the cover, may

The spring element 36 be used to control the speed of the clock mechanism, and the cover may be suitably graduated.

As shown in Fig. 5, the cover l0 may be provided with an annular rim 49 having annular ridges and grooves 50 to permit the use 01 a single cover for frying pans of different diameters.

While I have described specific constructional embodiments of my invention, any desired changes in the material used for the parts, in their relative arrangement and assembly and in their relative proportions may be made to suit the requirements for diiierent broiler designs, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a cover for a cooking utensil, a heater element mounted in said cover, and means for adjustably setting said heater element in said cover, said means including a rod secured to said heater element and extending upwardly through and slidably mounted in said cover, and cooperating elements associated with said cover and said rod for selectively releasably locking said rod at different points along the length thereof to said cover, said elements comprising spring-pressed pin and detent mechanism.

2. In combination, a cover for a cooking utensil, a heater element mounted in said cover, and means for adjustably setting said heater element in said cover, said means including a rod secured to said heater element and extending upwardly through and slidably mounted in said cover, and cooperating elements associated with said cover and said rod for selectively releasably locking said rod at different points along the length thereof to said cover, said elements comprising a spring-pressed pin mounted in said cover and longitudinally spaced detent grooves on said rod.

3. In combination, a cover for a cooking utensil, a heater element mounted in said cover, and means for adjustably setting said heater element in said cover, said means including a rod secured to said heater element and extending upwardly through and slidably mounted in said cover, spring means urging said rod upwardly through said cover, and releasable cooperating detent and pawl means on saidrod and said cover for releasably retaining said rod in set position against the pressure of said spring means.

SAUL LEIBOW. 

